Volume 5: Fellow Traveler Chapter 873 Chaos
Send a Grand Secretary who is actually the Prime Minister, plus an Earl to escort the King of Goryeo back to his country to succeed the throne? And also take a group of noble children who claim to be going to the sea for training, visit Goryeo by the way, and prepare to sail to other countries in the world in the future?
If those young men who surrounded Duke Zhang Rui of Chu a few days ago, and a group of them rushed to the public school to seek advice from Zhang Shou, and then made a fuss in his own home, were just rumors, then this was like a bolt from the blue, which completely stunned the court officials.
After being invited back to the Qianqing Palace, Confucius did not go to the cabinet when he came out. Instead, he returned home without saying a word, only sent a note asking for leave, and then closed the door to visitors. This obvious attitude of making a scene, or expressing protest, immediately caused a thousand waves, and it was unknown how many small circles were shaken.
After all, this was not just a cabinet position, but also a whole line of countless positions - although it was not really a case of one rise and one fall, but if Confucius really fell, his students, old friends and fellow villagers would naturally be in a state of panic. So, on that day, someone impeached Confucius for abusing his power... As a result, the memorial fell on deaf ears and was not sent out.
This ambiguous attitude immediately attracted more people to test the waters. Of course, they did not all come to impeach Grand Secretary Kong, but some people righteously criticized the emperor for being excessive - saying that Goryeo was a small country, and even if they were to be punished, they did not need the head of the civil service and the meritorious officials to go together, and even if they were to enthrone the king, it was just a trivial matter...
As more and more memorials were kept in the palace and not sent out, some tried to guess the emperor's intention and stand out, some tried to attack Grand Secretary Kong and send the leader of their own party to the cabinet, some tried to protect Grand Secretary Kong... By the way, although Grand Secretary Kong closed the door to visitors, he had specially informed his confidants and asked them to restrain themselves and keep quiet.
As a result, the tone of chaos became more and more intense, but those who jumped up and down were mainly low-level officials, while the middle and high-level bosses either watched from the sidelines or did their work calmly. In short, they had an attitude of non-participation, which made the court like a hot oil pan on one side and a stagnant pool of water on the other.
Zhang Shou, a man with only the title of Imperial Academy lecturer, was eventually unable to stay out of the incident. Some people pointed the finger at his previous memorial, fiercely accusing him of the idea of rebuilding a new school purely to seek favor and fame, with ulterior motives. How could a person in a high position learn the skills of a boatman?
Then, there were memorials criticizing the mathematics taught by Jiuzhangtang for involving the exclusive domain of the Imperial Astronomical Observatory. Then, civilians wrote letters claiming that the great changes in the stars in the sky were a sign that the ruler was deceived by treacherous officials...
Having received modern scientific education, Zhang Shou was very dismissive of the so-called interaction between heaven and man. In addition, astronomical observation was limited by technology even in his time, let alone now. He was not good at calculating the algorithm of solar and lunar eclipses, so he never taught anything about it. He also sneered at the idea of astrology affecting the rise and fall of government affairs.
So, when he was criticized at this time, he really felt that some people were stupid. It was not until the fire directly burned several scholars in his family who were about to take the imperial examination that he realized that this turmoil against him actually had other reasons.
Obviously, many people were determined to win this examination, so they thought that those who were close to him would get the moon first - but these guys didn't think that even if Mr. Song failed to pass the imperial examination, his engagement with the Jiangdu Palace would not be cancelled. Fang Qing was determined to win, but he was born in a humble family, so it depended on luck. As for Zou Ming and his two companions who fell into the water, they were very open-minded about their future.
There is no way to be open-minded, because the imperial examination was a thing that had been cheated everywhere from the Tang Dynasty, when covering up one's name was just a fig leaf, to the Song Dynasty when it was just transcription. Even though there were always candidates or examiners who tried their best to communicate with each other, it was really not like what was shown in some TV dramas, where people tampered with the imperial examination at every turn.
Because it's just like cheating in the college entrance examination, and people will be killed and blood will flow everywhere! Otherwise, how come the incident of Zhu Yuanzhang in the early Ming Dynasty is still talked about in modern times? During the Hongwu period, the imperial examination was suspended for more than ten years!
Therefore, Zhang Shou didn't think that his family's Zhang Garden could produce a few new Jinshi. He would be very lucky if he could produce one. Moreover, he didn't even recognize the two examiners who were appointed as the chief examiner and the deputy chief examiner. They were in the same Hanlin Academy and had never met each other. Now that he was suddenly hit by an unexpected disaster, he was furious .
But there were more than one person who impeached him, and the emperor kept all of them in his palace, and also stopped people from talking about those memorials at the court meeting. Even if he wanted to find an opportunity to criticize them in person, he couldn't do it for the time being, and he didn't have to attend court often. After thinking about it again and again, he directly asked Ah Liu to invite Song Juren and Fang Qing who were preparing for the imperial examination.
Because they had not gone out since earlier, the two had no idea what was happening outside. However, when they appeared in front of Zhang Shou, their spirits were completely different.
Mr. Song was beaming with joy, and those who didn't know him would think he was in love with the Princess of Hailing County, the King of Jiangdu, instead of studying hard for the exam at home. However, Fang Qing was different. He looked pale and had dark circles under his eyes. It was obvious that he was studying so hard that he was in a trance. He probably had trouble eating or sleeping.
Therefore, Zhang Shou couldn't help but turn the words on his lips into a question: "Xiao Fang, the exam is coming up soon, why are you tormenting yourself like this?"
Fang Qing smiled awkwardly, and then he heard Mr. Song's surprised voice: "That's right, Xiao Fang, what's wrong with you! I try to make delicious food for myself every day. After all, the exam is coming soon, and I can't let myself down..."
Zhang Shou finally understood where Mr. Song looked so good - because this guy was proficient in cooking and could make delicious sweet soup, he specially prepared a kitchen for him in his yard. As a result, even on the eve of the exam, he was still in the mood to cook delicious food to relieve his stress. The word "foodie" really deserves his name more than he does!
Therefore, when he saw Fang Qing glanced at Mr. Song with an extremely strange look, he coughed and said, "In short, you should combine work and rest. Xiao Fang, you should learn from Xiao Song. By the way, I invited you here today because I have something to tell you."
Zhang Shou did not keep the secret, and immediately told the story of what had happened in the past few days in a relaxed tone. Mr. Song, who was often jokingly called Song Benben by Ah Liu, scratched his head, not really understanding the mystery, and just thought that some people in the court were bored, but Fang Qing was different.
Born in poverty, he had both self-esteem and inferiority complex, and was particularly sensitive. At this moment, he subconsciously thought of the upcoming imperial examination, and was shocked and angry for a moment: "Could it be that these guys are sharpening their knives for the imperial examination?"
Mr. Song was stunned for a long time, and then he said as if he had a toothache: "Can you speak properly now?"
Fang Qing didn't expect that even a single word of his would be criticized by Mr. Song, but he had no time to pay attention to this guy. He solemnly bowed to Zhang Shou and said in a deep voice: "What does Mr. Zhang want us to do?"
"Haha, nothing much. I just want you two to put aside your studies and homework and write a few articles for me. I don't write letters often, so I don't have a ghostwriter. It's okay for me to argue with these people face to face, but it's not okay for me to use the articles of sages to fight against them."
Zhang Shou smiled as he said this: "But I just thought of a way to write an essay with your names. I will submit it for you. Of course, ordinary scholars' essays cannot reach the emperor, but the situation is different now. Instead of practicing eight-part essays all day, you might as well change your thinking and write other articles to relax your brains."
Fang Qing was still hesitating, but Mr. Song did not hesitate and immediately shouted with joy: "That's great, Mr. Zhang, can you give us some advice on what we should write? Oh, by the way, should we invite Zou Ming and the others over as well?"
"Also, isn't there someone using astronomy and astrology to make a fuss? I remember that time, Master Zhang, you had already refuted this matter, and Lu Gaoyuan even made Ye Mengqiu almost cry in public. But now he has come back to the right path, and he is almost half your student, isn't he? Why not get Ye Mengqiu and his fellow disciples to join us? There is strength in numbers!"
Fang Qing was simply shocked. For such a big thing, Mr. Song actually had such an attitude of wanting to cause chaos in the world? However, when he saw that Zhang Shou not only did not object or remind him, but also thought about it seriously, he suddenly felt powerless.
But the next moment, he understood why Mr. Song...or Zhang Shou was so confident.
Because Mr. Song was actually saying cheerfully, "Hailing told me that since he was a child, the emperor hated those old men who always stuck to ancestral rules and traditions, and he liked to bring forth something new, so he supported Mr. Zhang to reopen the Jiuzhang Hall. Now, he just sent someone to send a Goryeo prince back to the country to ascend the throne. It's just a small matter, but someone suddenly made such a fuss about it. He must be furious."
"This so-called staying in the middle school is certainly not because they want to suppress the matter, but to see what monsters and demons will jump out!"
Mr. Song actually made such a judgment based on the words of the Princess of Hailing County. Zhang Shou admired this boy who was sometimes slow and sometimes quite sharp. However, although he realized that there was something wrong with this trend, he didn't know what the emperor and some old men were planning, so he finally shook his head.
"I asked you two to come up with an article to fight back because the emperor knows you. But Zou Ming and the others are not that serious after all. They are just staying here temporarily because of an unexpected disaster. So, don't implicate them."
"As for Ye Mengqiu's fellow apprentices, they are good at mathematics, but not at quarreling with others."
Seeing Mr. Song's face full of regret, Zhang Shou said lightly: "In fact, this situation may not be caused by the gold sent by the Queen Mother and the ladies in the palace. Others think that I took the initiative and are jealous. Therefore, Lu Sanlang, who is in charge of that matter, will discuss it with you. He has many tricks, and you are good at writing articles, which complement each other."
The words "complement each other" should not be used in this kind of place!
Even though Fang Qing complained in his heart, when Song Juren excitedly pulled him out to discuss, he suddenly felt relieved after studying so hard for the past few days, doing all kinds of simulated eight-part essays and vomiting. The determination to win was relieved, and replaced by a sudden enlightenment.
When Lu Sanlang came over, it was really like two cobblers are better than one Zhuge Liang. The fat guy was not good at writing, but he was very clear about everything. In Zhang Shou's words, he was a person with very clear logic.
So, overnight, these three people produced not one article, but... ten articles, and they refuted the impeachments against Zhang Shou in recent days from various angles.
But the fat boy still felt that it was not enough, so he went to Jiuzhang Hall to find a few classmates who were extremely talented in mathematics and had good logic. Then, from a purely mathematical perspective, he imitated the terminology of Jiuzhang Suanshu, which most people would definitely not understand. He spent another day and concocted eight articles.
Mr. Song couldn't help it, and went to find Zou Ming and the other two, and invited them to write articles to refute the accusation in the name of ghostwriting. Then Fatty Lu promised and invited Zhang Dakuatou and other students of Banshan Hall to claim these articles. So, on the fourth day, the Tongzhengsi, which was already overwhelmed, received 41 memorials.
As soon as it was delivered, the cabinet sent someone to pick it up and then forwarded it to the emperor. At the court meeting the next day, the emperor, who had been keeping various memorials in his pocket, selected two officials from the Honglu Temple with the loudest voices to read them out in public. It was a particularly cold day, and I don't know how many people were shivering in the long court meeting, especially those incredible articles that they couldn't understand at all!
In other words, they could roughly understand each word and each phrase, but the sentences formed into them became extremely strange. They absolutely did not believe that it was written purely by the two candidates Song Juren and Fang Qing, and those playboys from Banshan Hall!
However, when their deliberate counterattack memorial the next day fell on deaf ears again, and the emperor sent someone to read another batch of rebuttal articles from Banshan Hall in public at the court meeting the next day, a group of people who had originally intended to test the waters or to take advantage of the situation by attacking Zhang Shou, as well as those who truly claimed to be upright and outspoken, finally discovered a despairing fact.
The emperor is openly partial!
Until this moment, some people hurriedly stopped the incident and pretended that nothing had happened. However, although most people were not held accountable, a few were suddenly arrested, all of them on charges of forming a clique for personal gain and plotting against the law.
These eight vague words have always been the magic weapon used by emperors of every dynasty to purge important officials such as prime ministers. Considering that Grand Secretary Kong was said to be sent as an envoy to Goryeo, everyone thought that this prime minister who was not the prime minister would probably be dismissed. However, they did not expect that within a few days, news came that Grand Secretary Zhang Yu would be the chief envoy and Grand Secretary Kong would remain in the cabinet.
At the same time, Minister Lin of the Ministry of Personnel suddenly fell ill. The emperor had just sent an imperial physician, but before he could even enter the room, the patient died!
